The Little Thief (1988)

In a small town in post-World-War-II France, an unhappy sixteen-year-old (Janine Castang) tries to escape her dreary situation by any means at her disposal. Three successive friends (Michel... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Miller

Writers:

François Truffaut (original scenario), Claude de Givray (original scenario) (as Claude De Givray)

Stars:

Charlotte Gainsbourg, Didier Bezace, Simon de La Brosse

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Janine Castang
Didier Bezace	...	Michel Davenne
Simon de La Brosse	...	Raoul
Clotilde de Bayser	...	Séverine Longuet
Raoul Billerey	...	Rouleau
Chantal Banlier	...	Léa
Nathalie Cardone	...	Mauricette
Renée Faure	...	La Mère Busato
Catherine Arditi	...	La directrice école
Gilbert Bahon	...	Le brigadier
Clothilde Baudon	...	Bonnin
Joëlle Bruyas	...	Soeur Marie-Odile
Denise Chiabaut	...	Le doctresse
Philippe Deplanche	...	Jacques Longuet
Erick Deshors	...	Raymond

Storyline

In a small town in post-World-War-II France, an unhappy sixteen-year-old (Janine Castang) tries to escape her dreary situation by any means at her disposal. Three successive friends (Michel Davenne, a married lover; Raoul, a fellow thief; Mauricette Dargelos, a photographer and fellow prisoner) help her learn from her mistakes.

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Plot Keywords:

uncle niece relationship | escape | unfaithfulness | theft | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

A Deliciously Sexy Tale Of Love And Larceny.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Little Thief

Filming Locations:

Barneville-Carteret, Manche, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,055,416

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orly Films,Orly Films,Renn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

François Truffaut's scenario offered the leading character Janine Castang as a female counterpart to the character Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows (1959).

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Getting Away with Murder/James and the Giant Peach/Jane Eyre/Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy/Ghost in the Shell (1996)

User Reviews

based on a Truffaut's script, a success in Miller's work

Originally, "the little thief" is a movie that François Truffaut was to shot. Indeed, he was dreaming of a feminized version of his movie "les 400 coups" (1959). Unfortunately, he died before he could make his film. So, it was Claude Miller who took over and put in pictures a story with recurrent topics in Truffaut's work such as childhood, education. The whole may not reach the peak of "les 400 coups" but it is after all a decent work although opinion is a little divided about it. I think the movie is especially worth for Charlotte Gainsbourg, full of freshness. Her amazing performance is enough to justify the trip and the vision of the film. She epitomizes with a lot of conviction the role of this teenager searching for real love and a better life. More simply, she nearly carries the whole movie on her shoulders. But, don't neglect the other obvious qualities that Miller's movie contains: the quality of the screenplay, the subtlety of the making and a quite faithful reconstruction of the France after the Second World War.

A light and nice movie. Truffaut would probably have approved the result.